10 Tips for Tweeting as a Brand

When I was asked to start tweeting as @profnet back in May 2008, I had a moment – OK, several moments – of panic. I had just heard of Twitter and had no idea what I was doing. (Some would say I still don’t, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Apart from queries, what the heck would I tweet about? And why would anyone care about anything I had to say? There were many moments when I would type a tweet, delete it, retype it, edit it, delete it and type it again – and then hold my breath as I hit the “send” button.

So what did I do? I found a mentor. For me, it was my colleague Vicky Harres. I respected what Vicky was doing on the @prnewswire feed, and decided to study her tweets and learn as much from her as I could.

What I learned: Friendliness and professionalism are not mutually exclusive. Your tweets can be conversational and still be professional. There’s no reason you can’t show a little personality, but remember: First and foremost, you are tweeting as @yourbrand, not as @you.

Am I an expert on Twitter? Certainly not, although I do think I’ve found a good balance between “official tweets” and “Maria tweets” (aside from my Snuggie obsession of 2009, which I’ve chosen to forget). So, please take my suggestions below as just that – suggestions from someone who tweets for a brand.

Find a Twitter mentor. If you follow someone who you think gets it right, learn from her. What does she tweet about? How often does she tweet? How often does she re-tweet? How does she re-tweet (does she just re-send the original tweet verbatim, or does she put her own spin on it)? When and how does she reply to negative tweets? When and how does she reply to positive tweets? If your mentor is open to it, run a few tweets by her and see what, if any, changes she would make.

Keep it positive. As tempting as it sometimes might be, avoid being negative, sarcastic or snarky. No matter how funny you think it might be, always remember that you’re tweeting as your brand, not as you.

Respond to negative feedback. If someone says something negative about your brand and you don’t respond, the tweet that lingers is the negative one. However, there are two caveats: 1) Be thoughtful in your response. You don’t have to respond immediately. It’s better to take time to think your response through. 2) Beware attempts to bait you. Weigh the pros and cons of responding. If you decide not to respond publicly, consider a direct message instead.

Steer away from controversy. Controversial topics (politics, religion) are controversial for a reason – there are people who are vehemently on one side or the other. Why alienate either?

Humor is subjective. There will always be someone who thinks your joke is in poor taste or inappropriate, so while I don’t think you should censor yourself, stay away from topics or language/slang that might be taken the wrong way.

Get a second opinion. If there’s something you want to tweet but you aren’t sure whether it’s appropriate, ask your mentor for his opinion. And if you’re still not sure, follow the next rule:

When in doubt, leave it out. This golden rule of writing also applies to tweets. If you have any doubts, don’t tweet it.

Don’t get too personal. Tweeting about Snuggies is innocuous. Tweeting about hemorrhoids or ingrown toenails is not.

Follow your followers. I know not everyone will agree with this, but if you want to promote conversation with your followers, you have to follow them back. I explained my reasoning for this in a previous post, To Follow or Not to Follow: Take the Auto-Follow Challenge. When I see someone whose following/follower ratio is pretty even, I find myself thinking that he is more open, and that makes me more likely to interact with him.

It’s not about @you. I come back to this because it’s really the mother of all rules, the one from which all the other rules grow. Every tweet represents your company – whether it’s in a positive or negative way is up to you.

Do you tweet for a brand? What do you think of these rules? Are there any you disagree with? Are there any I missed?

Author Maria Perez is director of news operations for Profnet, and she’s the voice behind @profnet on Twitter. She blogs actively on Profnet Connect – a free interactirtsve community linking PR pros, bloggers, journalists and experts.

17 comments on Blog Post Title

themodelife
12:59 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Maria,
Thanks so much for your post. I just started tweeting for a blog representing 30 women called TheModeLife (www.themodelife.com) I have never tweeted before and this is all very overwhelming! I appreciate your rules of engagement and will take them to heart. Especially the idea that I am representing TheModeLife, not myself.
Thanks again,
Chelsea Slocum

Amanda Laird
13:09 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

This is a really great post, Maria! When I first started tweeting for @CNWGroup I felt the same mix of emotions. Funny enough, Vicky @PRNewswire was also my Twitter mentor! I really loved what she did with PRN’s brand on Twitter and took a lot of lessons from her those early days. And still do today!

Maria Perez
13:25 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Thanks, Chelsea! I just followed @TheModeLife and look forward to reading your tweets. If I can help with anything along the way, don’t hesitate to let me know. :-)

Victoria Harres
14:08 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Maria – you’ve worded it so well. Can’t agree with you more on “It’s not about @you” and “Humor is subjective.” So true. And thank you for the kind words!

Maria Perez
14:11 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Thank YOU, Vicky. :-)

B. Campbell Studio
14:23 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Solid advice, Maria. I will pass this along. Thank you!

Maria Perez
14:42 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Thank you!

Carrie Boyle-Deehan
15:36 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Maria, very helpful tips, thank you. There’s no end to the learning curve on Twitter!

Maria Perez
15:38 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Thanks, Carrie! That is so true. I’m still learning every day!

Michelle Baker
17:31 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Great advice!

Victoria Harres
18:14 EDT on Jun 29, 2011

Amanda, I am blushing profusely. I have to say I love how we’ve always worked together to promote common causes. You rock!

Maria Perez
07:47 EDT on Jun 30, 2011

Thanks, Michelle!

Maria Perez
07:50 EDT on Jun 30, 2011

Thanks, Amanda!

Martino
14:47 EDT on Jul 1, 2011

Thanks for the WONDERFUL post! Totally useful information. I tweet for a brand and feel that, along the way, I’ve gotten some things right and some things so NOT right. I’m trying to learn and figure out along the way what really works for ME & my followers and hopefully not alienate anyone, while building a solid, positive brand reputation and a loyal following. My Twitter “mentor” (though they don’t know it), is @dkny. She SOOOO gets it right with Twitter! Truly my definition of the ideal Twitterer (if that’s a word, lol).

JC Sibala
21:29 EDT on Jul 2, 2011

How many tweets a day would be appropriate

Maria Perez
07:53 EDT on Jul 5, 2011

Thank you! I’m going to follow @dkny now. :-)

Maria Perez
09:07 EDT on Jul 5, 2011

That’s a tough question to answer generally. It really depends on you and your audience. You don’t want to tweet for the sake of tweeting. What business are you in, if you don’t mind sharing?

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